India’s unemployment rate increased to 7.78% in February, the highest since October 2019 which stood at 8.9%, as per the data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) on Monday.

The rate of unemployment stood at 7.16% in January 2020.

The Indian economy grew at its slowest pace in more than six years in the last three months of 2019.

Several analysts and experts predicted further slowdown as the global coronavirus outbreak is hindering the growth in Asia’s third-largest economy.

The country’s manufacturing sector expanded at the beginning of the year and was maintained in February. However, hiring increased only fractionally.

The unemployment rate in India’s rural areas rose to 7.37% in February up from 5.97% in January.

The rate in urban areas, however, fell to 8.65% from 9.70%, data from the Mumbai-based private think-tank showed.

Between September and December 2019, the unemployment rate in India stood at 7.5 per cent. However, the unemployment rate for graduates was at 18.5 per cent, double the headline rate.

Despite the massive rural spending on the back of the Kharif harvest season, October-December quarter recorded a massive growth decline of 4.7 per cent.

Also Read: Unemployment Rate At 7.5% In Sept-Dec 2019, Highest Among Educated Youth: CMIE Data